Josiah Howard lost his parents to the Spanish flu and became an orphan at age five. After five turbulent years in foster care, the desperate ten-year-old Josiah ran away. During the Great Depression, he finds himself alone on the streets begging for food. So desperately hungry that first week, he takes off again, this time to the woods to survive on his own. He thinks that if Tarzan could survive in the forest, so can he. Using his wits and ingenuity, he’s able to survive in the woods for five weeks. One night as Josiah is exploring by a creek looking for shelter, the old button maker living by the creek catches him on his property. This is the beginning of Josiah’s new life as we watch the boy, and the old German button maker come to depend on each other. As the boy learns a new trade, he meets a soup line volunteer named Elijah Meier who becomes his friend and business mentor. The Button Boy is an endearing and at times a heartbreaking story of a boy finding a new home, learning a trade, and having big dreams for his future. It is the story of the button boy finding love with the cute apple stand girl, their life together, and how together they overcome challenges to find success in the world of buttons.